document_title: Iron ore

question_text: what type of iron ore are found in india

question_tokens: what type of iron ore are found in india

text: Iron ore

text: Sources[edit]

text: This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

text: Metallic iron is virtually unknown on the surface of the Earth except as iron-nickel alloys from meteorites and very rare forms of deep mantle xenoliths. Although iron is the fourth most abundant element in the Earth's crust, comprising about 5%, the vast majority is bound in silicate or more rarely carbonate minerals. The thermodynamic barriers to separating pure iron from these minerals are formidable and energy intensive, therefore all sources of iron used by human industry exploit comparatively rarer iron oxide minerals, primarily hematite.

text: Prior to the industrial revolution, most iron was obtained from widely available goethite or bog ore, for example during the American Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars. Prehistoric societies used laterite as a source of iron ore. Historically, much of the iron ore utilized by industrialized societies has been mined from predominantly hematite deposits with grades of around 70% Fe. These deposits are commonly referred to as "direct shipping ores" or "natural ores". Increasing iron ore demand, coupled with the depletion of high-grade hematite ores in the United States, after World War II led to development of lower-grade iron ore sources, principally the utilization of magnetite and taconite.

text: Iron-ore mining methods vary by the type of ore being mined. There are four main types of iron-ore deposits worked currently, depending on the mineralogy and geology of the ore deposits. These are magnetite, titanomagnetite, massive hematite and pisolitic ironstone deposits.

text: Banded iron formations[edit]

text: Banded iron formations (BIFs) are sedimentary rocks containing more than 15% iron composed predominantly of thinly bedded iron minerals and silica (as quartz). Banded iron formations occur exclusively in Precambrian rocks, and are commonly weakly to intensely metamorphosed. Banded iron formations may contain iron in carbonates (siderite or ankerite) or silicates (minnesotaite, greenalite, or grunerite), but in those mined as iron ores, oxides (magnetite or hematite) are the principal iron mineral.[4]  Banded iron formations are known as taconite within North America.

text: The mining involves moving tremendous amounts of ore and waste.  The waste comes in two forms, non-ore bedrock in the mine (overburden or interburden locally known as mullock), and unwanted minerals which are an intrinsic part of the ore rock itself (gangue). The mullock is mined and piled in waste dumps, and the gangue is separated during the beneficiation process and is removed as tailings. Taconite tailings are mostly the mineral quartz, which is chemically inert.  This material is stored in large, regulated water settling ponds.

text: Magnetite ores[edit]

text: The key economic parameters for magnetite ore being economic are the crystallinity of the magnetite, the grade of the iron within the banded iron formation host rock, and the contaminant elements which exist within the magnetite concentrate. The size and strip ratio of most magnetite resources is irrelevant as a banded iron formation can be hundreds of meters thick, extend hundreds of kilometers along strike, and can easily come to more than three billion or more tonnes of contained ore.

text: The typical grade of iron at which a magnetite-bearing banded iron formation becomes economic is roughly 25% iron, which can generally yield a 33% to 40% recovery of magnetite by weight, to produce a concentrate grading in excess of 64% iron by weight. The typical magnetite iron-ore concentrate has less than 0.1% phosphorus, 3–7% silica and less than 3% aluminium.

text: Currently magnetite iron ore is mined in Minnesota and Michigan in the U.S., Eastern Canada and Northern Sweden. Magnetite bearing banded iron formation is currently mined extensively in Brazil, which exports significant quantities to Asia, and there is a nascent and large magnetite iron-ore industry in Australia.

text: Direct-shipping (hematite) ores[edit]

text: Direct-shipping iron-ore (DSO) deposits (typically composed of hematite) are currently exploited on all continents except Antarctica, with the largest intensity in South America, Australia and Asia. Most large hematite iron-ore deposits are sourced from altered banded iron formations and rarely igneous accumulations.

text: DSO deposits are typically rarer than the magnetite-bearing BIF or other rocks which form its main source or protolith rock, but are considerably cheaper to mine and process as they require less beneficiation due to the higher iron content.  However, DSO ores can contain significantly higher concentrations of penalty elements, typically being higher in phosphorus, water content (especially pisolite sedimentary accumulations) and aluminum (clays within pisolites). Export grade DSO ores are generally in the 62–64% Fe range.[citation needed]

text: Magmatic magnetite ore deposits[edit]

text: Occasionally granite and ultrapotassic igneous rocks segregate magnetite crystals and form masses of magnetite suitable for economic concentration. A few iron ore deposits, notably in Chile, are formed from volcanic flows containing significant accumulations of magnetite phenocrysts.[5] Chilean magnetite iron ore deposits within the Atacama Desert have also formed alluvial accumulations of magnetite in streams leading from these volcanic formations.

text: Some magnetite skarn and hydrothermal deposits have been worked in the past as high-grade iron ore deposits requiring little beneficiation. There are several granite-associated deposits of this nature in Malaysia and Indonesia.

text: Other sources of magnetite iron ore include metamorphic accumulations of massive magnetite ore such as at Savage River, Tasmania, formed by shearing of ophiolite ultramafics.

text: Another, minor, source of iron ores are magmatic accumulations in layered intrusions which contain a typically titanium-bearing magnetite often with vanadium. These ores form a niche market, with specialty smelters used to recover the iron, titanium and vanadium. These ores are beneficiated essentially similar to banded iron formation ores, but usually are more easily upgraded via crushing and screening. The typical titanomagnetite concentrate grades 57% Fe, 12% Ti and 0.5% V2O5.[citation needed]

text: Beneficiation[edit]

text: The Lower-grade sources of iron ore generally require beneficiation, using techniques like crushing, milling, gravity or heavy media separation, screening, and silica froth flotation to improve the concentration of the ore and remove impurities. The results, high quality fine ore powders, are known as fines.

text: Magnetite[edit]

text: Magnetite is magnetic, and hence easily separated from the gangue minerals and capable of producing a high-grade concentrate with very low levels of impurities.

text: The grain size of the magnetite and its degree of commingling with the silica groundmass determine the grind size to which the rock must be comminuted to enable efficient magnetic separation to provide a high purity magnetite concentrate. This determines the energy inputs required to run a milling operation.

text: Mining of banded iron formations involves coarse crushing and screening, followed by rough crushing and fine grinding to comminute the ore to the point where the crystallized magnetite and quartz are fine enough that the quartz is left behind when the resultant powder is passed under a magnetic separator.

text: Generally most magnetite banded iron formation deposits must be ground to between 32 and 45 micrometers in order to produce a low-silica magnetite concentrate. Magnetite concentrate grades are generally in excess of 70% iron by weight and usually are low phosphorus, low aluminium, low titanium and low silica and demand a premium price.

text: Hematite[edit]

text: Due to the high density of hematite relative to associated silicate gangue, hematite beneficiation usually involves a combination of beneficiation techniques.

text: One method relies on passing the finely crushed ore over a slurry containing magnetite or other agent such as ferrosilicon which increases its density. When the density of the slurry is properly calibrated, the hematite will sink and the silicate mineral fragments will float and can be removed.[6]

text: Production and consumption[edit]

text:
Usable iron ore production in million metric tons for 2015[8]
The mine production estimates for China are estimated from the National Bureau of Statistics China's crude ore statistics, rather than usable ore as reported for the other countries.[9]

Country
Production

Australia
817

Brazil
397

China
375*

India
156

Russia
101

South Africa
73

Ukraine
67

United States
46

Canada
46

Iran
27

Sweden
25

Kazakhstan
21

Other countries
132

Total world
2,280

text: Iron is the world's most commonly used metal - steel, of which iron ore is the key ingredient, representing almost 95% of all metal used per year.[3] It is used primarily in structural engineering applications and in maritime purposes, automobiles, and general industrial applications (machinery).

text: Iron-rich rocks are common worldwide, but ore-grade commercial mining operations are dominated by the countries listed in the table aside. The major constraint to economics for iron ore deposits is not necessarily the grade or size of the deposits, because it is not particularly hard to geologically prove enough tonnage of the rocks exist. The main constraint is the position of the iron ore relative to market, the cost of rail infrastructure to get it to market and the energy cost required to do so.

text: Mining iron ore is a high volume low margin business, as the value of iron is significantly lower than base metals.[10] It is highly capital intensive, and requires significant investment in infrastructure such as rail in order to transport the ore from the mine to a freight ship.[10] For these reasons, iron ore production is concentrated in the hands of a few major players.

text: World production averages two billion metric tons of raw ore annually. The world's largest producer of iron ore is the Brazilian mining corporation Vale, followed by Anglo-Australian companies Rio Tinto Group and then BHP Billiton. A further Australian supplier, Fortescue Metals Group Ltd, has helped bring Australia's production to first in the world.

text: The seaborne trade in iron ore, that is, iron ore to be shipped to other countries, was 849m tonnes in 2004.[10] Australia and Brazil dominate the seaborne trade, with 72% of the market.[10] BHP, Rio and Vale control 66% of this market between them.[10]

text: In Australia iron ore is won from three main sources: pisolite "channel iron deposit" ore derived by mechanical erosion of primary banded-iron formations and accumulated in alluvial channels such as at Pannawonica, Western Australia; and the dominant metasomatically-altered banded iron formation related ores such as at Newman, the Chichester Range, the Hamersley Range and Koolyanobbing, Western Australia. Other types of ore are coming to the fore recently, such as oxidised ferruginous hardcaps, for instance laterite iron ore deposits near Lake Argyle in Western Australia.

text: The total recoverable reserves of iron ore in India are about 9,602 million tonnes of hematite and 3,408 million tonnes of magnetite.[11] Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Odisha, Goa, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu are the principal Indian producers of iron ore. World consumption of iron ore grows 10% per annum[citation needed] on average with the main consumers being China, Japan, Korea, the United States and the European Union.

text: China is currently the largest consumer of iron ore, which translates to be the world's largest steel producing country. It is also the largest importer, buying 52% of the seaborne trade in iron ore in 2004.[10] China is followed by Japan and Korea, which consume a significant amount of raw iron ore and metallurgical coal. In 2006, China produced 588 million tons of iron ore, with an annual growth of 38%.

text: Iron ore market[edit]

text: Over the last 40 years, iron ore prices have been decided in closed-door negotiations between the small handful of miners and steelmakers which dominate both spot and contract markets. Traditionally, the first deal reached between these two groups sets a benchmark to be followed by the rest of the industry.[3]

text: In recent years, however, this benchmark system has begun to break down, with participants along both demand and supply chains calling for a shift to short term pricing. Given that most other commodities already have a mature market-based pricing system, it is natural for iron ore to follow suit.  To answer increasing market demands for more transparent pricing, a number of financial exchanges and/or clearing houses around the world have offered iron ore swaps clearing. The CME group, SGX (Singapore Exchange), London Clearing House (LCH.Clearnet), NOS Group and ICEX (Indian Commodities Exchange) all offer cleared swaps based on The Steel Index's (TSI) iron ore transaction data. The CME also offers a Platts-based swap, in addition to their TSI swap clearing. The ICE (Intercontinental Exchange) offers a Platts-based swap clearing service also. The swaps market has grown quickly, with liquidity clustering around TSI's pricing.[12] By April 2011, over US$5.5 billion worth of iron ore swaps have been cleared basis TSI prices. By August 2012, in excess of one million tonnes of swaps trading per day was taking place regularly, basis TSI.

text: A relatively new development has also been the introduction of iron ore options, in addition to swaps. The CME group has been the venue most utilised for clearing of options written against TSI, with open interest at over 12,000 lots in August 2012.

text: Singapore Mercantile Exchange (SMX) has launched the world first global iron ore futures contract, based on the Metal Bulletin Iron Ore Index (MBIOI) which utilizes daily price data from a broad spectrum of industry participants and independent Chinese steel consultancy and data provider Shanghai Steelhome's widespread contact base of steel producers and iron ore traders across China.[13] The futures contract has seen monthly volumes over 1.5 million tonnes after eight months of trading.[14]

text: This move follows a switch to index-based quarterly pricing by the world's three largest iron ore miners - Vale, Rio Tinto and BHP - in early 2010, breaking a 40-year tradition of benchmark annual pricing.[15]

text: Available iron ore resources[edit]

text: Available world iron ore resources[edit]

text: The iron ore reserves at present seem quite vast, but some are starting to suggest that the math of continual exponential increase in consumption can even make this resource seem quite finite. For instance, Lester Brown of the Worldwatch Institute has suggested iron ore could run out within 64 years based on an extremely conservative extrapolation of 2% growth per year.[16]

text: Australia[edit]

text: Geoscience Australia calculates that the country's "economic demonstrated resources" of iron  currently amount to 24 gigatonnes, or 24 billion tonnes.[citation needed]  The current production rate from the Pilbara region of Western Australia is approximately 430 million tonnes a year and rising. Gavin Mudd (Monash University) and Jonathon Law (CSIRO) expect it to be gone within 30 to 50 years (Mudd) and 56 years (Law).[17] These estimates require on-going review to take into account shifting demand for lower grade iron ore and improving mining and recovery techniques (allowing deeper mining below the groundwater table).

text: Pilbara deposit[edit]

text: This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

text: In 2011, leading Pilbara-based iron ore miners – Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton and Fortescue Metals Group (FMG) – all announced significant capital investment in the development of existing and new mines and associated infrastructure (rail and port). Collectively this would amount to the production of 1,000 million tonnes per year (Mt/y) by 2020. Practically that would require a doubling of production capacity from a current[when?] production level of 470 Mt/y to 1,000 Mt/y (an increase of 530 Mt/y). These figures are based on the current[when?] production rates of Rio 300 Mt/y, BHP 240 Mt/y, FMG 55 Mt/y and Other 15 Mt/y increasing to Rio 360 Mt/y, BHP 356 Mt/y, FMG 155 Mt/y and Other 140 Mt/y (the latter 140 Mt/y is based on planned production from recent[when?] industry entrants Hancock, Atlas and Brockman through Port Hedland and API and others through the proposed Port of Anketell). In March 2014, Fortescue officially opened its 40 million-tonne per annum (mtpa) Kings Valley project, marking the completion of a US$9.2 billion expansion that increased its production capacity to 155 mtpa. The expansion included the construction of the greenfields Solomon Hub in the Hamersley Ranges, one of the world’s largest iron ore developments comprising Kings Valley and the nearby 20 mtpa Firetail mine; an expansion of the Christmas Creek mine to 50 mtpa; and major extensions of Fortescue’s world-class port and rail facilities.

text: A production rate of 1,000 Mt/y would require a significant increase in production from existing mines and the opening of a significant number of new mines. Further, a significant increase in the capacity of rail and port infrastructure would also be required. For example, Rio would be required to expand its port operations at Dampier and Cape Lambert by 140 Mt/y (from 220 Mt/y to 360 Mt/y). BHP would be required to expand its Port Hedland port operations by 180 Mt/y (from 180 Mt/y to 360 Mt/y). FMG would be required to expand its port operations at Port Hedland by 100 Mt/y (from 55 Mt/y to 155 Mt/y). That is an increase of 420 Mt/y in port capacity by the three majors Rio, BHP and FMG and about at least 110 Mt/y from the non-major producers. Based on the rule-of-thumb of 50 Mt/y per car dumper, reclaimer and ship-loader the new production would require approximately 10 new car dumpers, reclaimers and ship-loaders.[18]

text: New rail capacity would also be required. Based on the rule-of-thumb of 100 Mt/y per rail line, increasing production by approximately 500 Mt/y would require five new single rail lines. One scenario is an extra rail line for all the majors: BHP (from double to triple track), Rio (double to triple track), FMG (single to double track) and at least two new lines. Hancock Prospecting has recently[when?] started production from its Roy Hill Iron Ore Mine located north of Newman. This project included the development of the Roy Hill deposit, the construction of a 344 km railway and a port facility with an annual throughput of 55 Mt and QR National to service non-major producers, as of December 2015 due to the falling iron ore price these plans have been suspended indefinitely.[19][20]

text: A 1,000 Mt/y production rate needs to be further considered by proponents and government. Areas of further consideration include new port space at Anketell to service the West Pilbara mines, growth at Port Hedland (BHP has announced the development of an outer harbour at Port Hedland), rail rationalisation and the regulatory approval requirements for opening and maintaining a ground disturbance footprint that supports 1,000 Mt/y of production including, amongst other things, native title, aboriginal heritage and environmental protection outcomes.

text: Smelting[edit]

text: Iron ores consist of oxygen and iron atoms bonded together into molecules. To convert it to metallic iron it must be smelted or sent through a direct reduction process to remove the oxygen.  Oxygen-iron bonds are strong, and to remove the iron from the oxygen, a stronger elemental bond must be presented to attach to the oxygen. Carbon is used because the strength of a carbon-oxygen bond is greater than that of the iron-oxygen bond, at high temperatures. Thus, the iron ore must be powdered and mixed with coke, to be burnt in the smelting process.

text: However, it is not entirely as simple as that. Carbon monoxide is the primary ingredient of chemically stripping oxygen from iron. Thus, the iron and carbon smelting must be kept at an oxygen deficient (reducing) state to promote burning of carbon to produce CO not CO2.

text:
Air blast and charcoal (coke): 2 C + O2 → 2 CO
Carbon monoxide (CO) is the principal reduction agent.
Stage One: 3 Fe2O3 + CO → 2 Fe3O4 + CO2
Stage Two: Fe3O4 + CO → 3 FeO + CO2
Stage Three: FeO + CO → Fe + CO2
Limestone calcining: CaCO3 → CaO + CO2
Lime acting as flux: CaO + SiO2 → CaSiO3

tag: ul

text: Trace elements[edit]

text: The inclusion of even small amounts of some elements can have profound effects on the behavioral characteristics of a batch of iron or the operation of a smelter.  These effects can be both good and bad, some catastrophically bad.  Some chemicals are deliberately added such as flux which makes a blast furnace more efficient.  Others are added because they make the iron more fluid, harder, or give it some other desirable quality.  The choice of ore, fuel, and flux determine how the slag behaves and the operational characteristics of the iron produced. Ideally iron ore contains only iron and oxygen. In reality this is rarely the case. Typically, iron ore contains a host of elements which are often unwanted in modern steel.

text: Silicon[edit]

text: Silica (SiO2) is almost always present in iron ore.  Most of it is slagged off during the smelting process.  At temperatures above 1300 °C some will be reduced and form an alloy with the iron.  The hotter the furnace, the more silicon will be present in the iron.  It is not uncommon to find up to 1.5% Si in European cast iron from the 16th to 18th centuries.

text: The major effect of silicon is to promote the formation of grey iron.  Grey iron is less brittle and easier to finish than white iron.  It is preferred for casting purposes for this reason.  Turner (1900, pp. 192–197) reported that silicon also reduces shrinkage and the formation of blowholes, lowering the number of bad castings.

text: Phosphorus[edit]

text: Phosphorus (P) has four major effects on iron: increased hardness and strength, lower solidus temperature, increased fluidity, and cold shortness.  Depending on the use intended for the iron, these effects are either good or bad.  Bog ore often has a high phosphorus content (Gordon 1996, p. 57).

text: The strength and hardness of iron increases with the concentration of phosphorus.  0.05% phosphorus in wrought iron makes it as hard as medium carbon steel.  High phosphorus iron can also be hardened by cold hammering.  The hardening effect is true for any concentration of phosphorus.  The more phosphorus, the harder the iron becomes and the more it can be hardened by hammering.  Modern steel makers can increase hardness by as much as 30%, without sacrificing shock resistance by maintaining phosphorus levels between 0.07 and 0.12%.  It also increases the depth of hardening due to quenching, but at the same time also decreases the solubility of carbon in iron at high temperatures.  This would decrease its usefulness in making blister steel (cementation), where the speed and amount of carbon absorption is the overriding consideration.

text: The addition of phosphorus has a down side.  At concentrations higher than 0.2% iron becomes increasingly cold short, or brittle at low temperatures.  Cold short is especially important for bar iron.  Although bar iron is usually worked hot, its uses[example  needed] often require it to be tough, bendable, and resistant to shock at room temperature.  A nail that shattered when hit with a hammer or a carriage wheel that broke when it hit a rock would not sell well.[citation needed]  High enough concentrations of phosphorus render any iron unusable (Rostoker & Bronson 1990, p. 22).  The effects of cold shortness are magnified by temperature.  Thus, a piece of iron that is perfectly serviceable in summer, might become extremely brittle in winter.  There is some evidence that during the Middle Ages the very wealthy may have had a high phosphorus sword for summer and a low phosphorus sword for winter (Rostoker & Bronson 1990, p. 22).

text: Careful control of phosphorus can be of great benefit in casting operations.  Phosphorus depresses the liquidus temperature, allowing the iron to remain molten for longer and increases fluidity.  The addition of 1% can double the distance molten iron will flow (Rostoker & Bronson 1990, p. 22).  The maximum effect, about 500 °C, is achieved at a concentration of 10.2% (Rostocker & Bronson 1990, p. 194).  For foundry work Turner[who?] felt the ideal iron had 0.2–0.55% phosphorus.  The resulting iron filled molds with fewer voids and also shrank less.  In the 19th century some producers of decorative cast iron used iron with up to 5% phosphorus.  The extreme fluidity allowed them to make very complex and delicate castings.  But, they could not be weight bearing, as they had no strength (Turner 1900, pp. 202–204).

text: There are two remedies[according to whom?] for high phosphorus iron.  The oldest, and easiest, is avoidance.  If the iron that the ore produced was cold short, one[who?] would search for a new source of iron ore.  The second method involves oxidizing the phosphorus during the fining process by adding iron oxide.  This technique is usually associated with puddling in the 19th century, and may not have been understood earlier. For instance Isaac Zane, the owner of Marlboro Iron Works did not appear to know about it in 1772.  Given Zane's reputation[according to whom?] for keeping abreast of the latest developments, the technique was probably unknown to the ironmasters of Virginia and Pennsylvania.

text: Phosphorus is a deleterious contaminant because it makes steel brittle, even at concentrations of as little as 0.6%. Phosphorus cannot be easily removed by fluxing or smelting, and so iron ores must generally be low in phosphorus to begin with.

text: Aluminium[edit]

text: Small amounts of aluminium (Al) are present in many ores including iron ore, sand and some limestones.  The former can be removed by washing the ore prior to smelting. Until the introduction of brick lined furnaces, the amount of aluminum contamination was small enough that it did not have an effect on either the iron or slag.  However, when brick began to be used for hearths and the interior of blast furnaces, the amount of aluminium contamination increased dramatically.  This was due to the erosion of the furnace lining by the liquid slag.

text: Aluminium is difficult to reduce.  As a result, aluminium contamination of the iron is not a problem.  However, it does increase the viscosity of the slag (Kato & Minowa 1969, p. 37 and Rosenqvist 1983, p. 311).  This will have a number of adverse effects on furnace operation.  The thicker slag will slow the descent of the charge, prolonging the process.  High aluminium will also make it more difficult to tap off the liquid slag.  At the extreme this could lead to a frozen furnace.

text: There are a number of solutions to a high aluminium slag.  The first is avoidance; don't use ore or a lime source with a high aluminium content.  Increasing the ratio of lime flux will decrease the viscosity (Rosenqvist 1983, p. 311).

text: Sulfur[edit]

text: Sulfur (S) is a frequent contaminant in coal.  It is also present in small quantities in many ores, but can be removed by calcining.  Sulfur dissolves readily in both liquid and solid iron at the temperatures present in iron smelting.  The effects of even small amounts of sulfur are immediate and serious.  They were one of the first worked out by iron makers.  Sulfur causes iron to be red or hot short (Gordon 1996, p. 7).

text: Hot short iron is brittle when hot.  This was a serious problem as most iron used during the 17th and 18th century was bar or wrought iron.  Wrought iron is shaped by repeated blows with a hammer while hot.  A piece of hot short iron will crack if worked with a hammer.  When a piece of hot iron or steel cracks the exposed surface immediately oxidizes.  This layer of oxide prevents the mending of the crack by welding.  Large cracks cause the iron or steel to break up.  Smaller cracks can cause the object to fail during use.  The degree of hot shortness is in direct proportion to the amount of sulfur present.  Today iron with over 0.03% sulfur is avoided.

text: Hot short iron can be worked, but it has to be worked at low temperatures.  Working at lower temperatures requires more physical effort from the smith or forgeman.  The metal must be struck more often and harder to achieve the same result.  A mildly sulfur contaminated bar can be worked, but it requires a great deal more time and effort.

text: In cast iron sulfur promotes the formation of white iron.  As little as 0.5% can counteract the effects of slow cooling and a high silicon content (Rostoker & Bronson 1990, p. 21).  White cast iron is more brittle, but also harder.  It is generally avoided, because it is difficult to work,  except in China where high sulfur cast iron, some as high as 0.57%, made with coal and coke, was used to make bells and chimes (Rostoker, Bronson & Dvorak 1984, p. 760).  According to Turner (1900, pp. 200), good foundry iron should have less than 0.15% sulfur.  In the rest of the world a high sulfur cast iron can be used for making castings, but will make poor wrought iron.

text: There are a number of remedies for sulfur contamination.  The first, and the one most used in historic and prehistoric operations, is avoidance.  Coal was not used in Europe (unlike China) as a fuel for smelting because it contains sulfur and therefore causes hot short iron.  If an ore resulted in hot short metal, ironmasters looked for another ore.  When mineral coal was first used in European blast furnaces in 1709 (or perhaps earlier), it was coked.  Only with the introduction of hot blast from 1829 was raw coal used.

text: Sulfur can be removed from ores by roasting and washing.  Roasting oxidizes sulfur to form sulfur dioxide which either escapes into the atmosphere or can be washed out.  In warm climates it is possible to leave pyritic ore out in the rain.  The combined action of rain, bacteria, and heat oxidize the sulfides to sulfuric acid and sulfates, which are water-soluble and leached out (Turner 1900, pp. 77). However, historically (at least), iron sulfide (iron pyrite FeS2), though a common iron mineral, has not been used as an ore for the production of iron metal.  Natural weathering was also used in Sweden.  The same process, at geological speed, results in the gossan limonite ores.

text: The importance attached to low sulfur iron is demonstrated by the consistently higher prices paid for the iron of Sweden, Russia, and Spain from the 16th to 18th centuries.  Today sulfur is no longer a problem. The modern remedy is the addition of manganese.  But, the operator must know how much sulfur is in the iron because at least five times as much manganese must be added to neutralize it.  Some historic irons display manganese levels, but most are well below the level needed to neutralize sulfur (Rostoker & Bronson 1990, p. 21).

text:
Sulfide inclusion as manganese sulfide (MnS) can also be the cause of severe pitting corrosion problems in low-grade stainless steel such as AISI 304 steel.[21] [22]
Under oxidizing conditions and in the presence of moisture, when sulfide oxidizes it produces thiosulfate anions as intermediate species and because thiosulfate anion has a higher equivalent electromobility than chloride anion due to its double negative electrical charge, it promotes the pit growth.[23]  Indeed, the positive electrical charges born by Fe2+ cations released in solution by Fe oxidation on the anodic zone inside the pit must be quickly compensated / neutralised by negative charges brought by the electrokinetic migration of anions in the capillary pit. Some of the electrochemical processes occurring in a capillary pit are the same than these encountered in capillary electrophoresis. Higher the anion electrokinetic migration rate, higher the rate of pitting corrosion. Electrokinetic transport of ions inside the pit can be the rate limiting step in the pit growth rate.


document_title: Hieratic

question_text: what kinds of writings were written in hieratic

root

text: Hieratic

text: Etymology[edit]

text: In the 2nd century AD, the term hieratic was first used by Clement of Alexandria.[3] It derives from the Greek phrase γράμματα ἱερατικά (grammata hieratika; literally "priestly writing"), as at that time, hieratic was used only for religious texts, as had been the case for the previous eight and a half centuries.

tag: p

text: Hieratic can also be an adjective meaning "[o]f or associated with sacred persons or offices; sacerdotal."[4]

text: Development[edit]

text: In the Proto-Dynastic Period of Egypt, hieratic first appeared and developed alongside the more formal hieroglyphic script. It is an error to view hieratic as a derivative of hieroglyphic writing. Indeed, the earliest texts from Egypt are produced with ink and brush, with no indication their signs are descendants of hieroglyphs. True monumental hieroglyphs carved in stone did not appear until the 1st Dynasty, well after hieratic had been established as a scribal practice. The two writing systems, therefore, are related, parallel developments, rather than a single linear one.[1]

text: Hieratic was used throughout the pharaonic period and into the Graeco-Roman Period. Around 660 BC, the Demotic script (and later Greek) replaced hieratic in most secular writing, but hieratic continued to be used by the priestly class for several more centuries, at least into the 3rd century AD.

text: Uses and materials[edit]

text: Through most of its long history, hieratic was used for writing administrative documents, accounts, legal texts, and letters, as well as mathematical, medical, literary, and religious texts. During the Græco-Roman period, when Demotic (and later Greek) had become the chief administrative script, hieratic was limited primarily to religious texts. In general, hieratic was much more important than hieroglyphs throughout Egypt's history, being the script used in daily life. It was also the writing system first taught to students, knowledge of hieroglyphs being limited to a small minority who were given additional training.[5] In fact, it is often possible to detect errors in hieroglyphic texts that came about due to a misunderstanding of an original hieratic text.

text: Most often, hieratic script was written in ink with a reed brush[6] on papyrus, wood, stone or pottery ostraca. Thousands of limestone ostraca have been found at the site of Deir al-Madinah, revealing an intimate picture of the lives of common Egyptian workmen. Besides papyrus, stone, ceramic shards, and wood, there are hieratic texts on leather rolls, though few have survived. There are also hieratic texts written on cloth, especially on linen used in mummification. There are some hieratic texts inscribed on stone, a variety known as lapidary hieratic; these are particularly common on stelae from the 22nd Dynasty.

text: During the late 6th Dynasty, hieratic was sometimes incised into mud tablets with a stylus, similar to cuneiform. About five hundred of these tablets have been discovered in the governor's palace at Ayn Asil (Balat),[7] and a single example was discovered from the site of Ayn al-Gazzarin, both in the Dakhla Oasis.[8][9] At the time the tablets were made, Dakhla was located far from centers of papyrus production.[10] These tablets record inventories, name lists, accounts, and approximately fifty letters. Of the letters, many are internal letters that were circulated within the palace and the local settlement, but others were sent from other villages in the oasis to the governor.

text: Characteristics[edit]

text: Hieratic script (unlike cursive hieroglyphs)[dubious – discuss] always reads from right to left. Initially, hieratic could be written in either columns or horizontal lines, but after the 12th Dynasty (specifically during the reign of Amenemhat III), horizontal writing became the standard.

text: Hieratic is noted for its cursive nature and use of ligatures for a number of characters. Hieratic script also uses a much more standardized orthography than hieroglyphs; texts written in the latter often had to take into account extra-textual concerns, such as decorative uses and religious concerns that were not present in, say, a tax receipt. There are also some signs that are unique to hieratic, though Egyptologists have invented equivalent hieroglyphic forms for hieroglyphic transcriptions and typesetting.[11] Several hieratic characters have diacritical additions so that similar signs could easily be distinguished. Particularly complicated signs could be written with a single stroke.

text: Hieratic is often present in any given period in two forms, a highly ligatured, cursive script used for administrative documents, and a broad uncial bookhand used for literary, scientific, and religious texts. These two forms can often be significantly different from one another. Letters, in particular, used very cursive forms for quick writing, often with large numbers of abbreviations for formulaic phrases, similar to shorthand.

text: A highly cursive form of hieratic known as "Abnormal Hieratic" was used in the Theban area from the second half of the 20th dynasty until the beginning of the 26th Dynasty.[12] It derives from the script of Upper Egyptian administrative documents and was used primarily for legal texts, land leases, letters, and other texts. This type of writing was superseded by Demotic—a Lower Egyptian scribal tradition—during the 26th Dynasty, when Demotic was established as a standard administrative script throughout a re-unified Egypt.

text: Influence[edit]

text: This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (May 2008)

tag: table

text: Hieratic has had influence on a number of other writing systems. The most obvious is that on Demotic, its direct descendant. Related to this are the Demotic signs of the Meroitic script and the borrowed Demotic characters used in the Coptic alphabet and Old Nubian.

text: Outside of the Nile Valley, many of the signs used in the Byblos syllabary were apparently borrowed from Old Kingdom hieratic signs.[13] It is also known that early Hebrew used hieratic numerals.[14]

text: Unicode[edit]

text: The Unicode standard considers hieratic characters' font variants of the Egyptian hieroglyphs, and the two scripts have been unified.[15] Hieroglyphs themselves were added to the Unicode Standard in October 2009 with the release of version 5.2. To date, there is no known Unicode font with hieratic.


document_title: Appalachian Trail

question_text: where does the appalachian trail start in pa

question_tokens: where does the appalachian trail start in pa

text: Appalachian Trail

text: History[edit]

text: The trail was conceived by Benton MacKaye, a forester who wrote his original plan—called "An Appalachian Trail, A Project in Regional Planning"[9]—shortly after the death of his wife in 1921. MacKaye's idea detailed a grand trail that would connect a series of farms and wilderness work/study camps for city-dwellers. In 1922, at the suggestion of Major William A. Welch, director of the Palisades Interstate Park Commission, his idea was publicized by Raymond H. Torrey with a story in the New York Evening Post under a full-page banner headline reading "A Great Trail from Maine to Georgia!" The idea was quickly adopted by the new Palisades Interstate Park Trail Conference as their main project.[citation needed]

text: On October 7, 1923, the first section of the trail, from Bear Mountain west through Harriman State Park to Arden, New York, was opened. MacKaye then called for a two-day Appalachian Trail conference to be held in March 1925 in Washington, D.C. This meeting inspired the formation of the Appalachian Trail Conference (now called the Appalachian Trail Conservancy) (ATC).[10]

text: A retired judge named Arthur Perkins and his younger associate Myron Avery took up the cause. In 1929, Perkins, who was also a member of the Connecticut Forest and Park Association and its Blue Blazed Trails committee, found Ned Anderson, a farmer in Sherman, Connecticut, who took on the task of mapping and blazing the Connecticut leg of the trail (1929–1933). It ran from Dog Tail Corners in Webatuck, New York, which borders Kent, Connecticut, at Ashley Falls, 50 miles (80 km) through the northwest corner of the state, up to Bear Mountain at the Massachusetts border.[11] (A portion of the Connecticut trail has since been rerouted (1979–1983) to be more scenic, adhering less to highways and more to wilderness, and includes a Ned K. Anderson Memorial Bridge.)[12]

text: Anderson's efforts helped spark renewed interest in the trail, and Avery (who led the charge after Perkins’ death in 1932) was able to bring other states on board. Upon taking over the ATC, Avery adopted the more practical goal of building a simple hiking trail. He and MacKaye clashed over the ATC's response to a major commercial development along the trail's path; MacKaye left the organization, while Avery was willing to simply reroute the trail. Avery reigned as Chairman of the ATC from 1932 to 1952 (he died that same year).[citation needed]

text: Avery became the first to walk the trail end-to-end, though not as a thru-hike, in 1936. In August 1937, the trail was completed to Sugarloaf Mountain in Maine, and the ATC shifted its focus toward protecting the trail lands and mapping the trail for hikers.

text: Many of the trail's present highlights were not part of the trail in 1937: Roan Mountain, North Carolina and Tennessee; the Mount Rogers high country, including Grayson Highlands, Virginia; the Pochuck Creek swamp, New Jersey; Nuclear Lake, New York; Thundering Falls, Vermont; and Saddleback Mountain, Maine. Except for places where the Civilian Conservation Corps was brought in (mostly in Shenandoah National Park, the Great Smoky Mountains, and Maine), the original trail often climbed straight up and down mountains, creating rough hiking conditions and a treadway prone to severe erosion. The ATC's trail crews and volunteer trail-maintaining clubs have relocated or rehabilitated miles of trail since that time.[13]

text: In 1936, A 121-day Maine to Georgia veteran's group funded and supported thru-hike was reported to have been completed, with all but three miles of the new trail cleared and blazed, by six Boy Scouts from New York City and their guides.[14] The completed thru-hike was much later recorded and accepted by the Appalachian Long Distance Hikers Association.[15]

text: In 1948, Earl Shaffer of York, Pennsylvania, brought a great deal of attention to the project by publicizing the first claimed thru-hike. The claim was later criticized for the hike's omission of significant portions due to short-cuts and car rides.[16][17][18] Shaffer later claimed the first north-to-south thru-hike, the first to claim to do so in each direction.[19] Chester Dziengielewski was later to be named the first south bound thru-hiker.[16] In 1998, Shaffer, nearly 80 years old, hiked the trail, making him the oldest person to claim a completed thru-hike.[20][21] The first solo woman to complete the hike was 67-year old Emma Gatewood who completed the northbound trek in 1955, taking 146 days. She repeated the achievement two years later.[22]

text: In the 1960s, the ATC made progress toward protecting the trail from development, thanks to efforts of politicians and officials. The National Trails System Act of 1968 designated the Pacific Crest Trail and Appalachian Trail as the first national scenic trails and paved the way for a series of National Scenic Trails within the National Park and National Forest systems.[23] Trail volunteers worked with the National Park Service to map a permanent route for the trail, and by 1971 a permanent route had been marked (though minor changes continue to this day). By the close of the 20th century, the Park Service had completed the purchase of all but a few miles of the trail's span.

text: Extensions[edit]

text: The International Appalachian Trail is a 1,900-mile (3,100 km) extension running northeast from Maine into New Brunswick and Quebec's Gaspé Peninsula, where it ends at Forillon National Park. It is a separate trail and not an official extension of the Appalachian Trail.[24] Other branches are designated in parts of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and along the western shore of Newfoundland, to the northern end of the Appalachian Mountain range, where it enters the Atlantic Ocean, near L'Anse aux Meadows National Historic Site. The route has since been extended to Greenland, Europe, and Morocco.[25]

text: Although the Appalachian Trail ends in Georgia, the Appalachian Mountains continue south to Flagg Mountain in Alabama.[26] In 2008, the Pinhoti National Recreation Trail in Alabama and Georgia, which terminates at Flagg Mountain, was connected to the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail via the Benton MacKaye Trail. Promoters of the Southern extension refer to MacKaye's statement at the 1925 conference that the Georgia to New Hampshire trail should, in the future, extend to Katahdin, and "then to Birmingham, Alabama". As of March 2015[update], The Pinhoti Trail terminates at the base of Flagg Mountain, near Weogufka in Coosa County, 50 miles (80 km) east of Birmingham.[27][28] In 2010, the Alabama state legislature formed the Alabama Appalachian Mountain Trail Commission to provide state resources for trail improvements, although officially designating Pinhoti as part of the Appalachian Trail would require an act of the United States Congress.[29]

text: The 8.8-mile (14.2 km) Appalachian Approach Trail begins at Amicalola Falls State Park's visitor center and ends at Springer Mountain.[30] Because Springer Mountain is in a remote area, the Approach Trail is often the beginning of North bound thru-hike attempts. Much of the Approach Trail was originally built as part of the Appalachian Trail, before the southern terminus was relocated from Mount Oglethorpe to Springer Mountain.

text: Flora and fauna[edit]

text: The Appalachian Trail is home to thousands of species of plants and animals, including 2,000 rare, threatened, endangered, and sensitive plant and animal species.[31]

text: Animals[edit]

text: The American black bear (Ursus americanus), among the largest animals along the Appalachian Trail, rarely confronts people.[32] The black bear is the largest omnivore that may be encountered on the trail, and it inhabits all regions of the Appalachians.[33] Bear sightings on the trail are uncommon, except in certain sections, especially Shenandoah National Park and portions of New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts sections, where bear populations have increased steadily since 1980; confrontations are rarer still.[32] Other hazards include venomous snakes, including the Eastern timber rattlesnake and copperhead, which are common along the trail. Both snakes are generally found in drier, rockier sections of the trail; the copperhead's range extends north to around the New Jersey–New York state line, while rattlesnakes are commonly found along the trail in Connecticut and have been reported, although rarely, as far north as New Hampshire.[34] Other large mammals commonly sighted include deer;[35] elk, reintroduced in the Smoky Mountains; and moose, which may be found in the vicinity of Massachusetts and northward.[36]

text: Small mammal species that inhabit along the trails are beaver, squirrel, river otter, chipmunk, porcupine, bobcat, two species of fox, boar, woodchuck, raccoon, and coyote. Bird species that reside in the trails are wild turkey, ruffed grouse, mourning dove, raven, two species of eagle, wood duck, three species of owl, and three species of hawk as well as warblers.

text: For most hikers, the most persistent pests along the trail are ticks, mosquitos, and black flies along with the mice that inhabit shelters.[37]

text: Plants[edit]

text: Plant life along the trail is varied. The trail passes through several different biomes from south to north, and the climate changes significantly, particularly dependent upon elevation. In the south, lowland forests consist mainly of second-growth; nearly the entire trail has been logged at one time or another. There are, however, a few old growth locations along the trail, such as Sages Ravine straddling the Massachusetts-Connecticut border and atop higher peaks along the trail on either side of the same border, the Hopper (a glacial cirque westward of the trail as it traverses Mt. Greylock in Massachusetts), and "The Hermitage", near Gulf Hagas in Maine. In the south, the forest is dominated by hardwoods, including oak and tulip trees, also known as yellow poplar.[38] Farther north, tulip trees are gradually replaced by maples and birches. Oaks begin to disappear in Massachusetts. By Vermont, the lowland forest is made up of maples, birch and beech, which provide spectacular foliage displays for hikers in September and October.[35] While the vast majority of lowland forest south of the White Mountains is hardwood, many areas have some coniferous trees as well, and in Maine, these often grow at low elevations.[38]

text: There is a drastic change between the lowland and subalpine, evergreen forest, as well as another, higher break, at tree line, above which only hardy alpine plants grow.[38] The sub-alpine region is far more prevalent along the trail than true alpine conditions. While it mainly exists in the north, a few mountains in the south have subalpine environments, which are typically coated in an ecosystem known as the Southern Appalachian spruce-fir forest. Southern ranges and mountains where sub-alpine environments occur include the Great Smoky Mountains, where sub-alpine environments only begin around 6,000 feet (1,800 m) in elevation, Roan Highlands on the North Carolina-Tennessee border, where sub-alpine growth descends below 6,000 feet (1,800 m), and Mount Rogers and the Grayson Highlands in Virginia, where there is some alpine growth above 5,000 feet (1,500 m). Appalachian balds are also found in the Southern highlands, and are believed to occur due to fires or grazing in recent centuries, or in some cases due to thin, sandy soils.[39] Several balds are sprouting trees, and on some, the National Forest service actually mows the grasses periodically in order to keep the balds free of trees.[citation needed]

text: Topography[edit]

text: No sub-alpine regions exist between Mount Rogers in Virginia and Mount Greylock in Massachusetts, mainly because the trail stays below 3,000 feet (910 m) from Shenandoah National Park in Virginia to Mount Greylock. Mount Greylock, however, has a large subalpine region, the only such forest in Massachusetts, extending down to 3,000 feet (910 m), which in the south would be far from the sub-alpine cutoff. This is especially low because Greylock is exposed to prevailing westerly winds, as the summits along its ridgeline rise approximately 200 to 650 feet (61 to 198 m) higher than any other peak in Massachusetts. Farther north, several peaks in Vermont reach into the sub-alpine zone, the bottom of which steadily descends as one proceeds northward, so that by the White Mountains in New Hampshire, it often occurs well below 3,000 feet (910 m). At Mount Moosilauke, which summits at 4,802 feet (1,464 m), the first alpine environment on the trail is reached, where only thin, sporadic flora is interspersed with bare rocks. Between the two regions is the krummholz region, where stunted trees grow with their branches oriented away from the winter's prevailing northwest wind, thus giving the appearance of flags (they are often called "flag trees"). This region resembles lowland terrain hundreds of miles north in Canada. It also contains many endangered and threatened species. The trail has been rerouted over New Hampshire's Presidential Range so the Appalachian Mountain Club can protect certain plant life. The alpine cutoff in the Whites is generally between 4,200 and 4,800 feet (1,300 and 1,500 m). Mountains traversed by the A.T. above treeline include Mount Moosilauke, several miles along the Franconia Range and along the Presidential Range. In the Presidentials, the trail climbs as high as 6,288 feet (1,917 m) on Mount Washington and spends about 13 miles (21 km) continuously above treeline, in the largest alpine environment in the United States east of the Rocky Mountains.

text: The segments of the trail through Pennsylvania are so rocky that hikers refer to the region as "Rocksylvania".[40] These small rocks—the result of erosion that has worn away the dirt along the trails—can be tough to walk on for extended periods of time without proper hard-soled shoes.

text: In Maine, the trail extends into even harsher environments, and sub-alpine and alpine growth descends to lower elevations. Alpine growth in the state ranges from around 2,500 feet (760 m) in the Mahoosuc Range to below 1,000 feet (300 m) in parts of the Hundred-Mile Wilderness,[41] where nearly every area higher than 1,000 feet (300 m) is evergreen forest. These forests include more species of evergreen, as well. In addition to the white pine, spruce and hemlock prevalent further south, Maine has many cedar trees along the trail. Near the northern terminus, there are even some tamarack (larch), a coniferous, pine-needled deciduous tree, which provides displays of yellow in the late fall after the birches and maples have gone bare. The hemlocks in Maine are also notable, as the woolly adelgid, which has ravaged populations further south, has not come into the state yet, and may be unable to make it so far north due to the cold climate.

text: Maine also has several alpine regions. In addition to several areas of the Mahoosuc Range, the Baldpates and Old Blue in southern Maine have alpine characteristics despite elevations below 4,000 feet (1,200 m). Saddleback Mountain and Mount Bigelow, further north, each only extend a bit above 4,000 feet (1,200 m), but have long alpine areas, with no tree growth on the summits and unobstructed views on clear days. From Mount Bigelow, the trail extends for 150 miles (240 km) with only a small area of alpine growth around 3,500 feet (1,100 m) on the summit of White Cap Mountain. Mount Katahdin, the second largest alpine environment in the eastern United States, has several square miles of alpine area on the flat "table land" summit as well as the cliffs and aretes leading up to it. Treeline on Mount Katahdin is only around 3,500 feet (1,100 m). This elevation in Massachusetts would barely be a sub-alpine region, and, south of Virginia, consists of lowland forest. This illustrates the drastic change in climate over 2,000 miles (3,200 km).

text: Despite the alpine environments well below 5,000 feet (1,500 m) in New Hampshire and Maine, some higher places farther south are not alpine. Examples include Wayah Bald in North Carolina 5,342 feet (1,628 m) and Clingmans Dome in Great Smoky Mountains National Park 6,643 feet (2,025 m).

text: Hiking the trail[edit]

text: Bicycles are prohibited from most of the trail, except for the sections which follow the C&O Canal in Maryland and the Virginia Creeper Trail in Virginia. Horses and pack animals are prohibited except horses on the C&O Canal and in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.[42] Several short segments of the trail, in towns and scenic natural areas, were built to ADA accessibly standards for wheelchair use.[43]

text: Navigation[edit]

text: Throughout its length, the AT is marked by white paint blazes that are 2 by 6 inches (5 by 15 cm). Side trails to shelters, viewpoints and parking areas use similarly shaped blue blazes. In past years, some sections of the trail also used metal diamond markers with the AT logo, few of which survive.

text:
Original 1930 ATC copper marker from a tree in New Jersey

An old metal diamond marker beside the trail in Maine

A typical white AT blaze along the trail in Pennsylvania

An example of a side-trail blue blaze, from Mount Greylock in Massachusetts

text: Lodging and camping[edit]

text: Most hikers carry a lightweight tent, tent hammock or tarp.[44] The trail has more than 250 shelters and campsites available for hikers.[45] The shelters, sometimes called lean-tos (in Maine, Massachusetts, and Connecticut), huts (in Shenandoah National Park), or Adirondack shelters, are generally open, three-walled structures with a wooden floor, although some shelters are much more complex in structure. Shelters are usually spaced a day's hike or less apart, most often near a water source (which may be dry) and with a privy. They generally have spaces for tent sites in the vicinity as the shelters may be full.[1] The Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) operates a system of eight huts along 56 miles (90 km) of New Hampshire's White Mountains.[35] These huts are significantly larger than standard trail shelters and offer full-service lodging and meals during the summer months. The Fontana Dam Shelter in North Carolina is more commonly referred to as the Fontana Hilton because of amenities (e.g. flush toilets) and its proximity to an all-you-can-eat buffet and post office.[45][46] Several AMC huts have an extended self-service season during the fall, with two extending self-service seasons through the winter and spring.[47] The Potomac Appalachian Trail Club maintains trail cabins, shelters, and huts throughout the Shenandoah region of Virginia.[35]

text: Shelters are generally maintained by local volunteers. Almost all shelters have one or more pre-hung food hangers (generally consisting of a short nylon cord with an upside-down tuna can suspended halfway down its length) where hikers can hang their food bags to keep them out of the reach of rodents. In hiker lingo, these are sometimes called "mouse trapezes."[48]

text: In addition to official shelters, many people offer their homes, places of business, or inns to accommodate AT hikers. One example is the Little Lyford Pond camps maintained by the Appalachian Mountain Club. Inns are more common in sections of the trail that coincide with national parks, most notably Virginia's Shenandoah National Park.[49]

text: Trail towns[edit]

text: The trail crosses many roads, thus providing ample opportunity for hikers to hitchhike into town for food and other supplies. Many trail towns are accustomed to hikers passing through, and thus many have hotels and hiker-oriented accommodations.[1] Some of the most well-known trail towns are Hot Springs, North Carolina; Erwin, Tennessee; Damascus, Virginia; Harpers Ferry, West Virginia; Duncannon, Pennsylvania; Port Clinton, Pennsylvania; Wingdale, NY; Kent, Connecticut; Salisbury, Connecticut; Great Barrington, Massachusetts; Hanover, New Hampshire; Lincoln, New Hampshire; Gorham, New Hampshire and Monson, Maine. In the areas of the trail closer to trail towns, many hikers have experienced what is sometimes called "trail magic,"[50] or assistance from strangers through kind actions, gifts, and other forms of encouragement.[51] Trail magic is sometimes done anonymously.[52] In other instances, persons have provided food and cooked for hikers at a campsite.

text: Hazards[edit]

text: The Appalachian Trail is relatively safe. Most injuries or incidents are consistent with comparable outdoor activities. Most hazards are related to weather conditions, human error, plants, animals, diseases, and hostile humans encountered along the trail.[53]

text: Many animals live around the trail, with bears, snakes, and wild boars posing the greatest threat to human safety. Several rodent- and bug-borne illnesses are also a potential hazard. In scattered instances, foxes, raccoons, and other small animals may bite hikers, posing risk of rabies and other diseases. There has been one reported case (in 1993) of hantavirus (HPS), a rare but dangerous rodent-borne disease affecting the lungs. The afflicted hiker recovered and hiked the trail the following year.[53] The section of the trail that runs through the Mid-Atlantic and New England states has a very high population of deer ticks carrying Lyme and other tick-borne diseases, and corresponds to the highest density of reported Lyme Disease in the country.[53]

text: Poison ivy is common the length of the trail, and more plentiful in the South.[1]

text: The weather is another major consideration of hikers on the trail. Hiking season of the trail generally starts in mid-to-late spring, when conditions are much more favorable in the South. However, this time may also be characterized by extreme heat, sometimes in excess of 100 °F (38 °C). Under such conditions, hydration is imperative. Light clothing and sunscreens are a must at high elevations and areas without foliage, even in relatively cool weather.[53] Farther north and at higher elevations, the weather can be cold, characterized by low temperatures, strong winds, hail or snow storms and reduced visibility. Prolonged rain, though not typically life-threatening, can undermine stamina and ruin supplies.[54] In March 2015, a hiker was killed on the trail in Maryland when a large tree blew over and fell onto him.[55]

text: Violent crime, including murder, has occurred on the trail in a few instances. Most have been crimes by non-hikers who crossed paths relatively randomly with the AT hiker-victims. The official website of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy points out that the number of violent crimes is extremely low when compared against the number of people (3 to 4 million) who hike on the trail every year.[56]

text: The first reported homicide on the trail was in 1974 in Georgia.[57] In 1981, the issue of violence on the Appalachian Trail received national attention when Robert Mountford, Jr. and Laura Susan Ramsay, both social workers in Ellsworth, Maine, were murdered by Randall Lee Smith.[58] Another homicide occurred in May 1996, when two women were abducted, bound and murdered near the trail in Shenandoah National Park. The primary suspect was later discovered harassing a female bicycler in the vicinity,[59] but charges against him were dropped, and the case remains unsolved.[60]

text: Human error can lead to casualties as well. In July 2013, 66-year-old lone hiker Geraldine Largay disappeared on the trail in Maine. She got very lost and survived 26 days before dying. Her remains were found 2 years later in October 2015.[61] In October 2015, a hiker visiting from England was killed on the trail by falling while taking photos at the Annapolis Rocks overlook in Maryland.[62]

text: Trail completion[edit]

text: Trail hikers who attempt to complete the entire trail in a single season are called "thru-hikers"; those who traverse the trail during a series of separate trips are known as "section-hikers". Rugged terrain, weather extremes, illness, injury, and the time and effort required make thru-hiking difficult to accomplish. Per 2014 estimates around 2700 hikers attempted to thru-hike the trail.[3]

text: Historically, only about 10% to 15% of those who make the attempt report to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy that they completed it.[63] However, since 2001, the number of people starting out in Georgia to do a thru-hike (or at least registering to do so) has dropped considerably, yet the number of people reporting that they have completed a thru-hike has remained approximately the same. This has resulted in an apparent increase in the completion rate to 29% (as of 2006).

text: The Appalachian Trail is usually thru-hiked south to north (that is, Georgia to Maine) rather than vice versa. Hikers typically begin in March or April and finish in late summer or early to late fall of that year.

text: A thru-hike generally requires five to seven months, although some have done it in three months, and several trail runners have completed the trail in less time. Trail runners typically tackle the AT with automobile support teams, without backpacks, and without camping in the woods.

text: Thru-hikers are classified into many informal groups. "Purists" are hikers who stick to the official AT trail, follow the white blazes, except for side trips to shelters and camp sites. "Blue Blazers" cut miles from the full route by taking side trails marked by blue blazes. The generally pejorative name "Yellow Blazers," a reference to yellow road stripes, is given to those who hitchhike to move either down or up the trail.

text: Most thru-hikers walk northward from Georgia to Maine, and generally start out in early spring and follow the warm weather as it moves north.[1] These "north-bounders" are also called NOBO (NOrthBOund) or GAME (Georgia(GA)-to-Maine(ME)), while those heading in the opposite direction are termed "south-bounders" (also SOBO or MEGA).[64][65]

text: Part of hiker subculture includes making colorful entries in logbooks at trail shelters, signed using pseudonyms called "trail names".[6]

text: The Appalachian Trail Conservancy gives the name "2000 Miler" to anyone who completes the entire trail. The ATC's recognition policy for "2000 Milers" gives equal recognition to thru-hikers and section-hikers, operates on the honor system, and recognizes blue-blazed trails or officially required roadwalks as substitutes for the official, white-blazed route during an emergency such as a flood, forest fire, or impending storm on an exposed, high-elevation stretch.[66] As of 2010, more than 11,000 people had reported completing the entire trail.[67] About three-quarters of these are thru-hikers.[67]

text: The Appalachian Trail, the Continental Divide Trail, and the Pacific Crest Trail form what is known as the Triple Crown of long-distance hiking in the United States.[7][8] In 2001, Brian Robinson became the first one to complete all three trails in a year.[68] In 2015, Heather Anderson (trail name "Anish") became the first woman to hold the unsupported record on the Appalachian Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail simultaneously.[69]

text: Speed records[edit]

text: Fastest known times for self-supported attempts (meaning no vehicle or crew support, implying carrying a heavy backpack):

text:
Joe McConaughy completed the trail northbound, on August 31, 2017 in 45 days, 12 hours and 15 minutes. [70][71]
Heather Anderson completed the trail, southbound, on September 24, 2015, in 54 days 7 hours and 48 minutes.[69]
Matthew Kirk (2013)[72]

text: Fastest known times for supported attempts (the athletes travel light, relying on a crew support with food, shelter, medical treatment, etc):

text:
Karl Meltzer on September 18, 2016, in 45 days, 22 hours, and 38 minutes. [73][74]
Scott Jurek. Jurek made the trip northbound, from late May to mid-July 2015, in 46 days, 8 hours, and 7 minutes.[75]

text: Route[edit]

text: The trail is currently protected along more than 99% of its course by federal or state ownership of the land or by right-of-way. The trail is maintained by a variety of citizen organizations, environmental advocacy groups, governmental agencies and individuals. Annually, more than 4,000 volunteers contribute over 175,000 hours of effort on the Appalachian Trail, an effort coordinated largely by the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) organization. In total, the AT passes through eight national forests and two national parks.[45]

text: In the course of its journey, the trail follows the ridge line of the Appalachian Mountains, crossing many of its highest peaks, and running, with only a few exceptions, almost continuously through wilderness. The trail used to traverse many hundreds of miles of private property; currently 99% of the trail is on public land.[76]

text: Georgia[edit]

text: Georgia has 75 miles (121 km) of the trail, including the southern terminus at Springer Mountain at an elevation of 3,782 feet (1,153 m).[77] At 4,461 feet (1,360 m), Blood Mountain is the highest point on the trail in Georgia. The AT and approach trail, along with many miles of blue blazed side trails, are managed and maintained by the Georgia Appalachian Trail Club. See also: Georgia Peaks on the Appalachian Trail.

text: North Carolina[edit]

text: North Carolina has 88 miles (142 km) of the trail, not including more than 200 miles (320 km) along the Tennessee Border.[78] Altitude ranges from 1,725 to 5,498 feet (526 to 1,676 m). The trail enters from Georgia at Bly Gap, ascending peaks such as Standing Indian Mountain, Mt. Albert, and Wayah Bald. It then goes by Nantahala Outdoor Center at the Nantahala River Gorge and the Nantahala River crossing. Up to this point, the trail is maintained by the Nantahala Hiking Club. Beyond this point, it is maintained by the Smoky Mountains Hiking Club. 30 miles (48 km) further north, Fontana Dam marks the entrance to Great Smoky Mountains National Park.[79]

text: Tennessee[edit]

text: Tennessee has 71 miles (114 km) of the trail,[80][81] not including more than 200 miles (320 km) along or near the North Carolina Border.[82] The section that runs just below the summit of Clingmans Dome in Great Smoky Mountains National Park is along the North Carolina and Tennessee border and is the highest point on the trail at 6,643 feet (2,025 m). The Smoky Mountains Hiking Club (Knoxville, TN) maintains the trail throughout the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to Davenport Gap. North of Davenport Gap, the Carolina Mountain Club (Asheville, NC) maintains the trail to Spivey Gap. Then the remaining Tennessee section is maintained by the Tennessee Eastman Hiking & Canoeing Club (Kingsport, TN).

text: Virginia[edit]

text: Virginia has 550.3 miles (885.6 km) of the trail (one-fourth of the entire trail) including more than 20 miles (32 km) along the West Virginia border.[83] With the climate, and the timing of northbound thru-hikers, this section is wet and challenging because of the spring thaw and heavy spring rainfall.[84] Substantial portions of the trail closely parallel Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park and, further south, the Blue Ridge Parkway.[83] The Appalachian Trail Conservancy considers as excellent for beginning hikers a well-maintained 104 miles (167 km) section of the trail that the Civilian Conservation Corps constructed in Shenandoah National Park. Climbs in this section rarely exceed 1,000 feet (300 m).[13][83] In the southwestern portion of the state, the trail goes within one half mile of the highest point in Virginia, Mount Rogers, which is a short side-hike from the AT.

text: West Virginia[edit]

text: West Virginia has 4 miles (6.4 km) of the trail, not including about 20 miles (32 km) along the Virginia border.[85] Here the trail passes through the town of Harpers Ferry, headquarters of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. Harpers Ferry is what many consider to be the mental midpoint of the entire A.T., although the actual midpoint is further north in southern Pennsylvania. (The exact midpoint moves due to trail rerouting.)[86]

text: Maryland[edit]

text: Maryland has 41 miles (66 km) of the trail, with elevations ranging from 230 to 1,880 feet (70 to 573 m).[87] Most of the trail runs along the ridgeline of South Mountain in South Mountain State Park.[88] Hikers are required to stay at designated shelters and campsites. The trail runs through the eastern edge of Greenbrier State Park. This can serve as a luxurious stop point for a hot shower and a visit to the camp store. The trail runs along the C&O Canal Towpath route for 3 miles (4.8 km). Hikers will also pass High Rock, which offers spectacular views and is a popular hang-gliding site. The section ends at Pen Mar Park, which sits on the border of Maryland and Pennsylvania.

text: Pennsylvania[edit]

text: Pennsylvania has 229.6 miles (369.5 km) of the trail.[89] The trail extends from the Pennsylvania – Maryland line at Pen Mar, a tiny town straddling the state line, to the Delaware Water Gap, at the Pennsylvania – New Jersey border. The Susquehanna River is generally considered the dividing line between the northern and southern sections of the Pennsylvania AT. South of the Susquehanna, the trail passes through Pine Grove Furnace State Park. The Pennsylvania section of the trail north of the Susquehanna, from Duncannon until the Delaware Water Gap, is noted for its eroded and rocky terrain which can slow hiking.[90]

text: New Jersey[edit]

text: New Jersey is home to 72.2 miles (116.2 km) of the trail.[91] The trail enters New Jersey from the south on a pedestrian walkway along the Interstate 80 bridge over the Delaware River, ascends from the Delaware Water Gap to the top of Kittatinny Mountain in Worthington State Forest, passes Sunfish Pond (right), continues north through the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area and Stokes State Forest and eventually reaches High Point State Park, the highest peak in New Jersey (a side trail is required to reach the actual peak). It then turns in a southeastern direction along the New York border for about 30 miles (48 km), passing over long sections of boardwalk bridges over marshy land, then entering Wawayanda State Park and then the Abram S. Hewitt State Forest just before entering New York near Greenwood Lake. In New Jersey the New York - New Jersey Trail Conference maintains and updates the Appalachian Trail.

text: Black bear activity along the trail in New Jersey increased rapidly starting in 2001. Hence, metal bear-proof trash boxes are in place at all New Jersey shelters.

text: New York[edit]

text: New York's 88.4 miles (142.3 km) of trail contain very little elevation change compared to other states.[92] From south to north, the trail summits many small mountains under 1,400 feet (430 m) in elevation, its highest point in New York being Prospect Rock at 1,433 feet (437 m), and only 3,000 feet (910 m) from the border with New Jersey. The trail continues north, climbing near Fitzgerald Falls, passing through Sterling Forest, and then entering Harriman State Park and Bear Mountain State Park. The lowest point on the entire Appalachian Trail is in the Bear Mountain Zoo 124 feet (38 m). It crosses the Hudson River on the Bear Mountain Bridge. It then passes through Fahnestock State Park, and continues northeast and crosses the Metro-North Railroad's Harlem Line. This track crossing is the site of the only train station along the trail's length. It enters Connecticut via the Pawling Nature Reserve. The section of the trail that passes through Harriman and Bear Mountain State Parks is the oldest section of the trail, completed in 1923. A portion of this section was paved by 700 volunteers with 800 granite-slab steps followed by over a mile of walkway supported by stone crib walls with boulders lining the path.[6] The project took four years, cost roughly $1 million, and was officially opened in June 2010.[6] The project was done by the New York–New Jersey Trail Conference. The New York–New Jersey Trail Conference maintains and updates the Appalachian Trail in New York.

text: Connecticut[edit]

text: Connecticut's 52 miles (84 km) of trail lie almost entirely along the ridges to the west above the Housatonic River valley.[93]

text: The state line is also the western boundary of a 480 acres (190 ha) Connecticut reservation inhabited by Schaghticoke Indians. Inside it, the AT roughly parallels its northern boundary, crossing back outside it after 2,000 feet (610 m). The trail proceeds northward through the Housatonic River valley and hills to its west, veering northwesterly and, at Salisbury, ascending the southern Taconic mountains, at Lion's Head affording a view northeasterly towards Mt. Greylock and other points in Massachusetts, and at Bear Mountain, reaching over 2,000 feet (610 m) in elevation for the first time since Pennsylvania and yielding views across the Hudson River valley to the Catskills and across the broad expanse of the Housatonic valley and the Berkshire and Litchfield Hills to the east. Just north of Bear, the trail, as it crosses into Massachusetts, descends into Sages Ravine, a deep gorge in the eastern Taconic ridgeline which is home to a fragile old growth forest. As the trail crosses the brook in the ravine, it leaves the area maintained by the Connecticut section of the Appalachian Mountain Club.

text: Massachusetts[edit]

text: Massachusetts has 90 miles (140 km) of trail.[94] The entire section of trail is in western Massachusetts' Berkshire County. It summits the highest peak in the southern Taconic Range, Mount Everett (2,604 feet (794 m)), then descends to the Housatonic River valley and skirts the town of Great Barrington. The trail passes through the towns of Dalton and Cheshire, and summits the highest point in the state at 3,491 feet (1,064 m), Mount Greylock. It then quickly descends to the valley within 2 miles (3.2 km) of North Adams and Williamstown, before ascending again to the Vermont state line. The trail throughout Massachusetts is maintained by the Berkshire Chapter of the Appalachian Mountain Club.

text: Vermont[edit]

text: Vermont has 150 miles (240 km) of the trail.[95] Upon entering Vermont, the trail coincides with the southernmost sections of the generally north/south-oriented Long Trail. It follows the ridge of the southern Green Mountains, summitting such notable peaks as Stratton Mountain, Glastenbury Mountain, and Killington Peak. After parting ways with the Long Trail at Maine Junction, the AT turns in a more eastward direction, crossing the White River, passing through Norwich, and entering Hanover, New Hampshire, as it crosses the Connecticut River. The Green Mountain Club maintains the AT from the Massachusetts state border to Route 12. The Dartmouth Outing Club maintains the trail from VT Route 12 to the New Hampshire state line.

text: New Hampshire[edit]

text: New Hampshire has 161 miles (259 km) of the trail.[96] The New Hampshire AT is nearly all within the White Mountain National Forest. For northbound thru-hikers, it is the beginning of the main challenges that go beyond enduring distance and time: in New Hampshire and Maine, rough or steep ground are more frequent and alpine conditions are found near summits and along ridges. The trail reaches 17 of the 48 four-thousand footers of New Hampshire, including 6,288-foot (1,917 m) Mount Washington, the highest point of the AT north of Tennessee and most topographically prominent peak in eastern North America. The trail passes within half a mile of 7 additional 4000-footer peaks in the Whites. Entering the alpine zone on the summit of Mount Pierce, from the south, the trail continues in alpine or near-alpine scrub continuously along the high Presidential ridge until descending the southeast flank of Mount Madison into the Great Gulf Wilderness over 12 miles northward. This region is subject to extremes of weather with little natural shelter and only occasional man-made shelter from the elements. Though greatest from November to May, the threat of severe and cold conditions in the Presidentials and across the New Hampshire Section is present year-round and requires hikers' careful attention to weather forecasts and planning, provisions and gear. The Dartmouth Outing Club maintains the AT from the Vermont border past Mount Moosilauke to Kinsman Notch, northwest of Woodstock, New Hampshire, Randolph Mountain Club maintains 2.2 miles from Osgood Trail near Madison Hut to Edmands Col, with the AMC maintaining the remaining miles through the state.

text: Maine[edit]

text: Maine has 281 miles (452 km) of the trail. The northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail is on Mount Katahdin's Baxter Peak in Baxter State Park.

text: In some parts of the trail in Maine, even the strongest hikers may only average 1 mile per hour (1.6 km/h), with places where hikers must hold on to tree limbs and roots to climb and descend, which is especially hazardous in wet weather.[97] The western section includes a mile-long (1.6 km) stretch of boulders, some of which hikers must pass under, at Mahoosuc Notch, sometimes called the trail's hardest mile.

text: Although there are dozens of river and stream fords on the Maine section of the trail, the Kennebec River is the only one on the trail that requires a boat crossing. The most isolated portion of the Appalachian Trail, known as the "Hundred-Mile Wilderness", occurs in Maine. It heads east-northeast from the town of Monson and ends outside Baxter State Park just south of Abol Bridge.[98]

text: Park management strongly discourages thru-hiking within the park before May 15 or after October 15.[99]

text: The AMC maintains the AT from the New Hampshire border to Grafton Notch, with the Maine Appalachian Trail Club responsible for maintaining the remaining miles to Mt. Katahdin. The international extension, called the International Appalachian Trail begins at Mt. Katahdin.

text: Major intersections[edit]

text: Listed from south to north.

text: Southern terminus: Springer Mountain, Georgia

text:
U.S. Route 76 in northeast Georgia
 U.S. Route 64 near Nantahala River, North Carolina
  U.S. Route 19/U.S. Route 74 near Fontana Lake, North Carolina
 U.S. Route 441 at North Carolina/Tennessee border
 Interstate 40 at North Carolina/Tennessee border
  U.S. Route 25/U.S. Route 70 in Hot Springs, North Carolina
  Interstate 26/U.S. Route 23 at North Carolina/Tennessee border
 U.S. Route 19W at North Carolina/Tennessee border
 U.S. Route 19E near Roan Mountain, Tennessee
 U.S. Route 321 at Watauga Lake, Tennessee
 U.S. Route 421 near South Holston Lake, Tennessee
 U.S. Route 16 near Troutdale, Virginia
 U.S. Route 58 in Damascus, Virginia
 Interstate 81 near Marion, Virginia
  Interstate 77/U.S. Route 52 near Wytheville, Virginia
 U.S. Route 460 in Pearisburg, Virginia
 Interstate 81 near Roanoke, Virginia
 U.S. Route 501 at James River, Virginia
 U.S. Route 60 near Buena Vista, Virginia
 Interstate 64 near Waynesboro, Virginia
 U.S. Route 250 near Waynesboro, Virginia
 U.S. Route 33 in Shenandoah National Park
 U.S. Route 211 near Luray, Virginia
 U.S. Route 522 near Front Royal, Virginia
 Interstate 66 in Front Royal, Virginia
  U.S. Route 17/U.S. Route 50 near Waterloo, Virginia
 U.S. Route 340 in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia
 U.S. Route 340 in Sandy Hook, Maryland
  Interstate 70/U.S. Route 40 near Hagerstown, Maryland
 U.S. Route 30 near Fayetteville, Pennsylvania
 Interstate 76 in Middlesex Township, Pennsylvania
 U.S. Route 11 in Middlesex Township, Pennsylvania
 Interstate 81 in Middlesex Township, Pennsylvania
  U.S. Route 11/U.S. Route 15 in Duncannon, Pennsylvania
  U.S. Route 22/U.S. Route 322 in Duncannon, Pennsylvania
 Interstate 81 near Fort Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania
 Interstate 476 near Slatington, Pennsylvania
 Interstate 80 at Pennsylvania/New Jersey border
 U.S. Route 206 near Frankford, New Jersey
 Interstate 87 near Harriman, New York
   U.S. Route 6/U.S. Route 9W/U.S. Route 202 near Fort Montgomery, New York
 U.S. Route 9 near Garrison, New York
 Taconic State Parkway near Shenandoah, New York
 Interstate 84 near Whaley Lake, New York
 U.S. Route 7 near Falls Village, Connecticut
 U.S. Route 44 near Salisbury, Connecticut
 U.S. Route 7 near Great Barrington, Massachusetts
 Interstate 90 near Lee, Massachusetts
 U.S. Route 20 near Lee, Massachusetts
 U.S. Route 4 near Rutland, Vermont
 Interstate 89 near West Hartford, Vermont
 U.S. Route 5 in Norwich, Vermont
 Interstate 91 in Norwich, Vermont
  Interstate 93/U.S. Route 3 near Franconia, New Hampshire
 U.S. Route 302 in White Mountain National Forest
 U.S. Route 2 near Gorham, New Hampshire
 U.S. Route 201 in Caratunk, Maine

text: Northern terminus: Mt. Katahdin, Maine

text: Use in research[edit]

text: The Appalachian Trail has been a resource for researchers in a variety of disciplines. Portions of the trail in Tennessee were used on a study on trail maintenance for the trail's "uniform environmental conditions and design attributes and substantial gradient in visitor use."[81] Beginning in 2007, various citizen groups, including the Appalachian Trail Conservancy and the American Hiking Society, began a study to monitor environmental changes that have resulted from higher ozone levels, acid rain, smog, and other air quality factors.[100] Such research has been supported by the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, Cornell University, the National Geographic Society, and Aveda Corporation.[100]

text: Behavioral studies have also been conducted on hikers themselves. A 2007 study on hikers found that most persons hike the trail "for fun and enjoyment of life and for warm relationships with others" and that "environmental awareness, physical challenge, camaraderie, exercise, and solitude" were chief results among hikers.[101] Since the highest single demographic of thru-hikers are males between the ages of 18–29, one informal study sought to find the correlation between this group and male college drop-outs.[102]


document_title: List of Dallas Cowboys seasons

question_text: when was the last time the cowboys been to the superbowl

text: List of Dallas Cowboys seasons

text: This article is a list of seasons completed by the Dallas Cowboys American football franchise of the National Football League (NFL). The list documents the season-by-season records of the Cowboys' franchise from 1960 to present, including postseason records, and league awards for individual players or head coaches. The Cowboys franchise was founded in 1960 as an expansion team.[1] The team has earned 31 postseason appearances, tied for second place with the Pittsburgh Steelers, the longest consecutive streak of winning seasons with 20, the second-most appearances in the NFC Championship Game (14, behind the San Francisco 49ers' 15) and the second-most Super Bowl appearances (8 with the Denver Broncos and Steelers). The Cowboys have played for 10 NFL Championships and have won 5, all five being Super Bowls.[2]

text: The Cowboys won Super Bowl VI, XII, XXVII, XXVIII and XXX. They also played in and lost Super Bowl V, X, and XIII.[2]

text: The franchise has experienced two major periods of continued success in their history. The first period of success came from 1966–1985 when the Cowboys played in the postseason 18 times.[3] During this period, they played in two NFL Championships and five Super Bowls, winning two of them, winning a total of 20 playoff games.[3] The second period of success was between 1991–1996 when the Cowboys captured five straight NFC East Division titles and won three Super Bowls going 11–2 in the postseason.[3]

text: The Cowboys have also experienced failure in their history. The most notable period of failure was from their 1960 inaugural season to 1965, during which the Cowboys did not have a single postseason appearance.[4] They did not win a single game during their first season, compiling an 0–11–1 record that is still the worst in franchise history.[4] Also, they did not have a single winning record in this period.[4] Between 1986 and 1990 the Cowboys had losing records in each season as veteran coach Landry retired and the team was radically overhauled, with the low point being the NFL's second 15-loss season (after the 1980 Saints) in 1989. After losing a Divisional playoff Game in 1996, the Cowboys between 1997 and 2008 lost five consecutive playoff games, one after a franchise-record 13–3 season in 2007, during which most predicted the Cowboys would break this streak.[5] This streak finally came to an end when the Cowboys finally beat their bitter rival, the Philadelphia Eagles 34–14 after an 11–5 season in 2009.[5]

text: Seasons[edit]

text:
NFL Champions (1920–1969)
Super Bowl Champions (1970–present)
Conference Champions
Division Champions
Wild Card Berth

text:
Season
Team
League
Conference
Division
Regular season
Postseason Results
Awards
Head coaches

Finish
Wins
Losses
Ties

1960
1960
NFL
Western

7th
0
11
1

Tom Landry

1961
1961
NFL
Eastern

6th
4
9
1

Tom Landry

1962
1962
NFL
Eastern

5th
5
8
1

Tom Landry

1963
1963
NFL
Eastern

5th
4
10
0

Tom Landry

1964
1964
NFL
Eastern

5th
5
8
1

Tom Landry

1965
1965
NFL
Eastern

2nd
7
7
0

Tom Landry

1966
1966
NFL
Eastern

1st
10
3
1
Lost NFL Championship Game (Packers) 34–27
Tom Landry (COY)
Tom Landry

1967[6]
1967
NFL
Eastern
Capitol
1st
9
5
0
Won Conference Playoffs (Browns) 52–10
Lost NFL Championship Game (Packers) 21–17

Tom Landry

1968
1968
NFL
Eastern
Capitol
1st
12
2
0
Lost Conference Playoffs (Browns) 31–20

Tom Landry

1969
1969
NFL
Eastern
Capitol
1st
11
2
1
Lost Conference Playoffs (Browns) 38–14
Calvin Hill (OROY)
Tom Landry

1970
1970
NFL
NFC
East
1st
10
4
0
Won Divisional Playoffs (Lions) 5–0
Won Conference Championship (49ers) 17–10
Lost Super Bowl V (Colts) 16–13
Chuck Howley (SB MVP)
Tom Landry

1971
1971
NFL
NFC
East
1st
11
3
0
Won Divisional Playoffs (Vikings) 20–12
Won Conference Championship (49ers) 14–3
Won Super Bowl VI (1) (Dolphins) 24–3
Roger Staubach (SB MVP)
Tom Landry

1972
1972
NFL
NFC
East
2nd
10
4
0
Won Divisional Playoffs (49ers) 30–28
Lost Conference Championship (Redskins) 26–3

Tom Landry

1973
1973
NFL
NFC
East
1st[7]
10
4
0
Won Divisional Playoffs (Rams) 27–26
Lost Conference Championship (Vikings) 27–10

Tom Landry

1974
1974
NFL
NFC
East
3rd
8
6
0

Tom Landry

1975
1975
NFL
NFC
East
2nd
10
4
0
Won Divisional Playoffs (Vikings) 17–14
Won Conference Championship (Rams) 37–7
Lost Super Bowl X (Steelers) 21–17

Tom Landry

1976
1976
NFL
NFC
East
1st
11
3
0
Lost Divisional Playoffs (Rams) 14–12

Tom Landry

1977
1977
NFL
NFC
East
1st
12
2
0
Won Divisional Playoffs (Bears) 37–7
Won Conference Championship (Vikings) 23–6
Won Super Bowl XII (2) (Broncos) 27–10
Tony Dorsett (OROY)
Harvey Martin (DPOY, SB MVP)
Randy White (SB MVP)
Tom Landry

1978[8]
1978
NFL
NFC
East
1st[9]
12
4
0
Won Divisional Playoffs (Falcons) 27–20
Won Conference Championship (Rams) 28–0
Lost Super Bowl XIII (Steelers) 35–31

Tom Landry

1979
1979
NFL
NFC
East
1st[10]
11
5
0
Lost Divisional Playoffs (Rams) 21–19

Tom Landry

1980
1980
NFL
NFC
East
2nd[11]
12
4
0
Won Wild Card Playoffs (Rams) 34–17
Won Divisional Playoffs (Falcons) 30–27
Lost Conference Championship (Eagles) 20–7

Tom Landry

1981
1981
NFL
NFC
East
1st
12
4
0
Won Divisional Playoffs (Buccaneers) 38–0
Lost Conference Championship (49ers) 28–27

Tom Landry

1982[12]
1982
NFL
NFC

2nd
6
3
0
Won Wild Card Playoffs (Buccaneers) 30–17
Won Divisional Playoffs (Packers) 37–26
Lost Conference Championship (Redskins) 31–17

Tom Landry

1983
1983
NFL
NFC
East
2nd
12
4
0
Lost Wild Card Playoffs (Rams) 24–17

Tom Landry

1984
1984
NFL
NFC
East
4th
9
7
0

Tom Landry

1985
1985
NFL
NFC
East
1st[13]
10
6
0
Lost Divisional Playoffs (Rams) 20–0

Tom Landry

1986
1986
NFL
NFC
East
3rd
7
9
0

Tom Landry

1987[14]
1987
NFL
NFC
East
4th
7
8
0

Tom Landry

1988
1988
NFL
NFC
East
5th
3
13
0

Tom Landry

1989
1989
NFL
NFC
East
5th
1
15
0

Jimmy Johnson

1990
1990
NFL
NFC
East
4th
7
9
0

Emmitt Smith (OROY)
Jimmy Johnson (COY)
Jimmy Johnson

1991
1991
NFL
NFC
East
2nd[15]
11
5
0
Won Wild Card Playoffs (Bears) 17–13
Lost Divisional Playoffs (Lions) 38–6

Jimmy Johnson

1992
1992
NFL
NFC
East
1st
13
3
0
Won Divisional Playoffs (Eagles) 34–10
Won Conference Championship (49ers) 30–20
Won Super Bowl XXVII (3) (Bills) 52–17
Troy Aikman (SB MVP)
Jimmy Johnson

1993
1993
NFL
NFC
East
1st
12
4
0
Won Divisional Playoffs (Packers) 27–17
Won Conference Championship (49ers) 38–21
Won Super Bowl XXVIII (4) (Bills) 30–13
Emmitt Smith (MVP, SB MVP)
Jimmy Johnson

1994
1994
NFL
NFC
East
1st
12
4
0
Won Divisional Playoffs (Packers) 35–9
Lost Conference Championship (49ers) 38–28

Barry Switzer

1995
1995
NFL
NFC
East
1st
12
4
0
Won Divisional Playoffs (Eagles) 30–11
Won Conference Championship (Packers) 38–27
Won Super Bowl XXX (5) (Steelers) 27–17
Larry Brown (SB MVP)
Barry Switzer

1996
1996
NFL
NFC
East
1st[16]
10
6
0
Won Wild Card Playoffs (Vikings) 40–15
Lost Divisional Playoffs (Panthers) 26–17

Barry Switzer

1997
1997
NFL
NFC
East
4th
6
10
0

Barry Switzer

1998
1998
NFL
NFC
East
1st
10
6
0
Lost Wild Card Playoffs (Cardinals) 20–7

Chan Gailey

1999
1999
NFL
NFC
East
2nd[17]
8
8
0
Lost Wild Card Playoffs (Vikings) 27–10

Chan Gailey

2000
2000
NFL
NFC
East
4th
5
11
0

Dave Campo

2001
2001
NFL
NFC
East
5th
5
11
0

Dave Campo

2002
2002
NFL
NFC
East
4th
5
11
0

Dave Campo

2003
2003
NFL
NFC
East
2nd
10
6
0
Lost Wild Card Playoffs (Panthers) 29–10

Bill Parcells

2004
2004
NFL
NFC
East
3rd
6
10
0

Bill Parcells

2005
2005
NFL
NFC
East
3rd
9
7
0

Bill Parcells

2006
2006
NFL
NFC
East
2nd
9
7
0
Lost Wild Card Playoffs (Seahawks) 21–20

Bill Parcells

2007
2007
NFL
NFC
East
1st
13
3
0
Lost Divisional Playoffs (Giants) 21–17
Greg Ellis (CBPOY)
Wade Phillips

2008
2008
NFL
NFC
East
3rd
9
7
0

Wade Phillips

2009
2009
NFL
NFC
East
1st[18]
11
5
0
Won Wild Card Playoffs (Eagles) 34–14
Lost Divisional Playoffs (Vikings) 34–3

Wade Phillips

2010
2010
NFL
NFC
East
3rd
6
10
0

Wade Phillips (1–7)
Jason Garrett (5–3)

2011
2011
NFL
NFC
East
3rd
8
8
0

Jason Garrett

2012
2012
NFL
NFC
East
3rd
8
8
0

Jason Witten (WP MOY)
Jason Garrett

2013
2013
NFL
NFC
East
2nd
8
8
0

Jason Garrett

2014
2014
NFL
NFC
East
1st
12
4
0
Won Wild Card Playoffs (Lions) 24–20
Lost Divisional Playoffs (Packers) 26–21
DeMarco Murray (OPOY)
Jason Garrett

2015
2015
NFL
NFC
East
4th
4
12
0

Jason Garrett

2016
2016
NFL
NFC
East
1st
13
3
0
Lost Divisional Playoffs (Packers) 34–31
Dak Prescott (OROY)
Jason Garrett (COY)
Jason Garrett

2017
2017
NFL
NFC
East
2nd
9
7
0

Jason Garrett

Total
493
367
6
All-time regular season record (1960–2016)

34
27
0
All-time postseason record (1960–2016)

527
393
6
All-time regular season and postseason record (1960–2016)

5 NFL Championships, 10 Conference Championships, 22 Divisional Championships

text: Footnotes[edit]

text:
Jump up ^ "1960 Dallas Cowboys". Dallas Cowboys' Official Website. Archived from the original on 2007-12-29. Retrieved 2008-01-12.
^ Jump up to: a b "Dallas Cowboys' Championship History". NFLTeamHistory.com. Retrieved 2008-01-12.
^ Jump up to: a b c "Dallas Cowboys Championship History". NFLTeamHistory.com. Retrieved 2008-01-28.
^ Jump up to: a b c "Dallas Cowboys History". CBS Sports. Retrieved 2008-01-27.
^ Jump up to: a b "Dallas Cowboys Franchise History". SportsEncyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2011-12-17.
Jump up ^ The 1967 NFL season marks the first season in the league's history where the league was divided into two conferences which were subdivided into two divisions. Up to 1967, the league was either divided into two divisions, two conferences, or neither.
Jump up ^ At the end of the 1973 season, the Cowboys and the Redskins finished the season with identical 10–4 records. Using the NFL's tie-breaking procedures, Dallas finished ahead of Washington in the NFC East based on better point differential in head-to-head games.
Jump up ^ For the 1978 season, the NFL expanded from a 14-game season to a 16-game season.
Jump up ^ At the end of the 1978 season, the Cowboys and the Los Angeles Rams finished the season with identical 12–4 records. Using the NFL's tie-breaking procedures, Los Angeles was the top NFC seed over Dallas based on a better head-to-head record.
Jump up ^ At the end of the 1979 season, the Cowboys and the Eagles finished the season with identical 11–5 records. Using the NFL's tie-breaking procedures, Dallas finished ahead of Philadelphia in the NFC East based on a better conference record.
Jump up ^ At the end of the 1980 season, the Cowboys and the Eagles finished the season with identical 12–4 records. Using the NFL's tie-breaking procedures, Philadelphia finished ahead of Dallas in the NFC East based on better net points in division games.
Jump up ^ The 1982 NFL season was shortened from 16 games per team to 9 games because of a players' strike. The NFL adopted a special 16-team playoff tournament; eight teams from each conference were seeded 1–8, and division standings were ignored.
Jump up ^ At the end of the 1985 season, the Cowboys, Redskins, and the Giants finished the season with identical 10–6 records. Using the NFL's tie-breaking procedures, Dallas finished ahead of New York and Washington based on a better head-to-head record.
Jump up ^ The 1987 NFL season was shortened from 16 games per team to 15 games because of a players' strike. Games to be played during the third week of the season were canceled, and replacement players were used to play games from weeks 4 through 6.
Jump up ^ At the end of the 1991 season, the Cowboys and the Bears finished the season with identical 11–5 records. Using the NFL's tie-breaking procedures, Chicago was the first NFC Wild Card based on better conference record than Dallas.
Jump up ^ At the end of the 1996 season, the Cowboys and the Eagles finished the season with identical 10–6 records. Using the NFL's tie-breaking procedures, Dallas finished ahead of Philadelphia in the NFC East based on better record against common opponents.
Jump up ^ At the end of the 1999 season, the Cowboys, Lions, and the Panthers finished the season with identical 8–8 records. Using the NFL's tie-breaking procedures, Dallas was the second NFC Wild Card based on a better record than Detroit against common opponents and a better conference record than Carolina.
Jump up ^ At the end of the 2009 season, the Cowboys and the Eagles finished with identical 11–5 records. Using the NFL's tie-breaking procedures, Dallas finished ahead of Philadelphia in the NFC East based on better head-to-head record.

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